Paleolithic Tool-Making
Olduwan Beginning around 2.6 million years ago and in use until about 1.6 million years ago, were the beginnings of the Old Stone, or Paleolithic, Age. Olduwan Industry began with a hammerstone, a pebble shaped stone that could fit easily into the hand. One then found a hand-sized piece of quartz, quartzite, basalt, flint, chert, or obsidian and used the hammerstone to chip away flakes from until an edge had been formed on one side, a chopper. Later, the flakes were themselves formed into scrapers. Choppers were used in the creation of all early tools. Scrapers These came in many forms and probably had handles. They are differentiated by being relatively thinner than previous implement, with a blade side: *Grattoir: Primarily used in scraping skins and woodworking made of flint or chert, this makes use of a long edge *Hollow Scraper: Has a notch in the end or along the side of the blade. *Nose Scraper: Made with a convex blade and was used in fine work, this makes use of the short edge Awls These instruments are thin, with tapered shafts. They are used to make or enlarge holes in leather: *Stitching Awl: Had an eye in the pointed end to aid in sewing *Bradawl: For woodworking, has a flat-tip screwdriver tip used to aid in making indentations Burins Chisel-like instruments used for carving wood and bone *Carinated: Has multiple facets where several flakes have been removed from the edge *Dihedral: Has two edges, a small and long, for variable uses *Ordinary: Has two facets facing each other Acheulean Beginning around 1.76 million years ago and in use until about 130,000 years ago. These tools were formed using bone, antlers, and wood, giving them more control over the final product. Tools from this period tend to be more symmetrical. The primary invention of the era appears to be the hand axe. The main rock used was flint, though almost any stone could be employed, even sandstone in some cases. Hand Axe *Bout-Coupe: A Bifacial blade shaped like a rounded triangle *Cordate: Heart-Shaped *Ficron: Tool with a long curved sides and well-made tip *Ovate: Oval shaped *Pointed: Used for specific cutting There were several additional tools created during the era as well: Other Tools *Cleaver: Has a rounded surface perpendicular to the sharp edge; used in cutting flesh and bone *Retouched Flakes: The result of reworking an edge to give it sharpness again *Segmental Chopping Tool: Has one Bifacial edge, also known as a side chopper Mousterian Beginning around 160,000 and lasting to 40,000 years ago, this culture had more refined versions of the tools listed above in addition to a couple additions. The advancements mainly revolved around the development of throwing weapons. All were made using a variety of rocks but primarily flint, quartz, and obsidian: Primary Advancements *Dart: A throwing weapon which could have been made of ivory, antler, or bone - useful in close situation where a hunter might have only a single spear *Knife: Tied to wood, a blade could be used defensively or to finishing prey *Racloir: Large side scraper made of flint it was used for scraping hides and bark *Spear: A blade at the end of a worked piece of wood provided additional protection for the hunter in killing large prey or defending against predators Aurignacian Beginning around 50,000 years ago and lasting until the end of the last ice age around 10,000 years ago, the period was most noted for its use of long blades over flakes. These provided for a longer cutting edge in hunting and more durable implements for cutting, scraping, and stabbing.